Whether Bond has no time to die because he deserves a long retirement in Jamaica, or because he must predictably save the world single-handedly, or because the spirit of Bond must live on in following films, since the physical Bond dies in this one; who knows? After all, the Bond films haven’t got time to die, they generate too much revenue.
Although I have no interest in Hollywood productions, the title is intriguing – No Time to Die. The arts reflect the beliefs of a culture and this maxim captures the Western attitude to death. With investment in Cryonics on the rise and a 63-year-old Madonna still dressing like a teenager, the West is trying to avoid its appointment with death. Technology generates our desires and celebrities embody them – we have no time to die.
In the West we are generally like the rich farmer in the Bible; we are materially wealthy and think that we will live forever – “I will say to my soul, ‘Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years; take your ease; eat, drink, and be merry’” (Luke 12:19). We are so absorbed with the here and now, we forget about eternity. Materialism – the belief that nothing exists apart from physical stuff is evident all around us. We live for prosperity and wealth; we aim for ease and comfort and fill our lives with stuff. Materialism has also infected our thinking. We refuse to acknowledge that we have eternal souls; we have reduced God to a distant ‘big bang’ and fear climate change instead of God’s wrath. So steeped are we in materialistic thinking, like the rich farmer we think that our souls are owned by us – not God. We think we are the gods of our own lives and have no time to die.
However, the Bible shatters this illusion – “we will surely die” (2 Samuel 14:14); “the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23).
We have an irrevocable appointment with death – “it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment” (Hebrews 9:27 KJV).
Don’t make the mistake of the farmer, who heard the awful words: “Fool! This night your soul will be required of you; then whose will those things be which you have provided?’” (Luke 12:20).
Because of our sins, we deserve to die (Ezekiel 18:4). We have broken God’s law, transgressed infinite justice and are rebels to the core. The only sentence left for sinners is eternal judgement in the lake of fire, also called the second death (Revelation 21:8).
Although we know these truths, we hide from them by living for the here and now, and pretend that we have “no time to die”.
The Bible offers a better solution. It says, “Prepare to meet your God” (Amos 4:12). Instead of denying reality by hiding behind material stuff, we must face reality and accept our condition as sinners destined for hell. A reminder of eternity has a wonderful way of re-focusing our lives and thinking.
When we realise our need, the Bible offers good news to us. Although we are heading to eternal death (i.e., separation from God forever), God offers us eternal life through the Lord Jesus. The best-known verse in the Bible summarises this: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16). The Lord Jesus died for our sins on the cross and His resurrection proves that He satisfied the claims of God’s justice, meaning that all who believe in Him escape the second death, and enjoy eternal life.
God is not willing that any should perish (2 Peter 3:9) and offers you life today. There’s no need to “die”.
If you turn from your sins and believe in His Son, you will have eternal life. Hurry, there’s no time to delay.
Photo credit: Samuel Girven
